The thing about Massa that set him apart from lots of other drivers wasn't that he had more hunger to win or that he was more ruthless, or that he didn't really care about anyone else, or that he was one of the greats, a talent apart, or in fact that he shone more brilliantly than others in terms of 'natural talent'.
What set him apart was that he was quick (hey, he was in F1 after all), he was the perfect team player - to his own misfortune at times, and he carried himself with tremendous dignity most of the time, even when we could see his inner fury at a situation.
(
I may have said something similar before)
Above all, he seems like a jolly nice bloke. No wonder he's popular.
I think F1 as a whole will be worse off without him, tbh.